In a letter, led by Representatives Spanberger, Axne, Matsui, McKinley, sent to Acting HHS Secretary Norris Cochran, 226 Members of Congress called on HHS to take immediate action against manufacturers that refuse to provide discounted drugs to community safety net providers and require manufacturers to reimburse community safety net providers for overcharges. The also called on HHS to preserve covered entities’ access to 340B Savings, which aligns with the congressional statute and the intention of the 340B Program.
The 340B Program allows healthcare safety net providers to purchase medicines from pharmaceutical manufacturers at a discounted price. The providers then use the savings they receive from that discount to provide care and programs to vulnerable and unserved members of the community. Recently a handful of pharmaceutical manufacturers have defied their statutory responsibility and denied safety net providers their 340B discounts on account of their pharmacy arrangements. This action has led to unreasonable harm within the safety net community.
